Joined at the Hip
by CindyBeesWax
Summary: When you hurt one, you wound the other
1. Chapter 1

**_This story was inspired by one of HipsterMaybe's own one-shot. I owe her a debt of gratitude for encouraging me to give free rein to my inspiration and try to turn my ideas into words._**

**_I intended for this story to be two or three chapters long at the most, but somehow I got bitten by the writing bug. Damn these things can be nasty! I didn't go into details as I didn't want to lose myself, seeing how this is my very first attempt at writing. All mistakes are mine and please know that I am not a doctor, therefore I didn't elaborate on the medical terminology. This is by no means an original story idea but I hope you'll enjoy nonetheless._**

**_Plenty of Danny and Steve whump and a special appearance by an old friend in earlier episodes. This story is set in Season two.  
_**

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

At the Five-0 headquarters, Chin, Danny and Steve were gathered at the smart table cudgeling their brains as to the arm dealers' next move. They had been slaving over this case far too long and it aggravated Steve that they hadn't made some headway in the last few weeks. Once they got a whiff of Five-0 nosing around in their business, the crooks went into hiding and ground all of their Hawaii-based dealings to a halt as they waited the task force out, taunting them.

Their last tip came from a bartender in Waikiki who had led them to a possible hideout, but the crooks had up and flown the coop before Steve's team could move in on them. Kamekona had even put out feelers but to no avail. Now a month later, the case was stalling with no light in sight at the end of the tunnel.

Then suddenly, it came. Kono erupted in the room bearing good tidings.

"Guys, Kamekona came through. The dealers have relocated in a condemned building on Sand Island. I have the exact location right here." She plugged in the USB key under the table and flipped the open file onto one of the wall screens for everyone to see. She then zoomed in on the decrepit two-story building that once housed a beachwear store. "There it is. I have the exact location."

"Kamekona is sure of his information?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. He says his nark once used to run the business before it went under two years ago. He could never sell the building afterwards but kept it just in case something came up. When the city condemned it for demolition last month, he went back to inspect the structure and that's when he noticed evidence that someone had been there. He staked out the place and sure enough he spotted shady activities with thugs moving in crates into the building. When he went to check out the place, those boxes were nowhere in sight. He was able to positively identify one of the suspects."

"Why didn't he report it before?" Steve was suspicious.

"Says he didn't want to get his hands dirty. The building was to be torn down anyway."

"Oh Steve, I smell a trap." Danny's hair stood on end at the thought.

"Is Kamekona's informant on the level?" Steve asked Kono.

"Says he is. Apparently the thugs are there right now, moving in crates and bags."

"If he's a friend of the Big Guy, chances are he once dipped his toe into unholy waters. Better beware. I mean why would they move the merchandise in broad daylight? Someone is bound to ask questions. This mole could be leading us into a trap. How do we know he's not one of them? This could very well be an ambush." Once again Danny issued a strong warning that he sincerely hoped his reckless partner would heed.

"Duly noted, Daniel, but we can't afford to let it slip by without at least inspecting the area. We'll go with backup this time," Steve teased Danny who closed his eyes in relief.

"Chin, called Duke and ask him to meet us at the location without sirens blaring. Advise them to park out of view of the building. We wouldn't want to alert them of our presence and risk scaring them away."

"Got it!"

"Okay people, strap on and let's go."

They each checked their gun magazines for ammo and grabbed automatic rifles before heading out to the parking lot.

Danny opened the trunk of his car to grab his Kevlar vest. As he strapped on the body armor he couldn't help but cringe at the case of grenades Steve had stashed away for emergencies.

"What's the matter?" Steve asked casually as he donned his own vest.

"THAT!" Danny pointed angrily at the metal box, "That's what's the matter. I will never understand why you feel the need to tote around so many grenades in the trunk of MY car," he griped, putting emphasis on the 'my'.

"You'll never know when they might come in handy or save your life for that matter. Besides they're not cumbersome."

"Perhaps but they are dangerous toys to carry in a trunk, especially with a ten-year-old girl in the car. What if some drunken punk rear-ended us and set your pineapples on fire? We're literally sitting on a powder keg here. "

"Danny, relax. It's safe I assure you. I would never put your life in jeopardy, and certainly not Grace's."

"Why can't you keep them in the back of your own truck?"

Steve shook his head in exasperation at his partner's annoying grievance. "Daniel we've been through this before. I don't drive my truck when we're going on raids. It's not built for chases."

"Well it makes me nervous, more so when you're driving like a lunatic."

"You worry too much." Steve dismissed with a smirk.

"Says the guy who's been in hospitals more often than germs."

"Hey! I haven't been there for the last three months!" Steve retorted.

"What about last week?" Danny demurred.

"Last week was for a silly scratch on the forehead."

"Correction! It was a gash."

"It didn't require sutures! I was let go minutes after they slapped a bandage on it."

Chin came up to the bickering pair and interrupted on an amusing tone. "Girls, girls! Can we postpone this squabble till after the raid?"

"Fine!"

"Fine! Hand me your keys."

Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance and grudgingly tossed the keys over to Steve. "I should get myself a station wagon," he mumbled underneath his breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

They arrived at their destination where Duke and his men were already scouring the area.

"Duke. What have we got?"

"A few of my men have gone around the building. They located three entrances. That one in front and two other out back, north and south, but they're both locked from the outside with padlocks."

"Meaning their only way out in through the front door," Steve deduced.

"Right, unless there's a cellar with a passageway. We searched the outside premises and didn't find any concealed door that would lead to such."

"From the blue prints Kono obtained, there's no basement. The office space and storerooms are all located on the main floor."

"If you look there," Duke brought Steve's attention to a monitor set up on the hood of his car. "The thermal imagining is picking up three medium-height human forms roaming about. Two are on the main floor and one is on the top floor."

"We've got to be careful those are not curious tourists ghost hunting or something? We'll need to be vigilant when we charge in there," Danny's caution received an approving nod from Steve.

"Is there a vehicle parked nearby? We could probably start rummaging through it," Steve suggested.

"We looked around and found nothing. They were probably dropped off and left to sort out the merchandise. Wait!" Duke pointed to the screen. "There's a fourth one. Now where did he come from?"

"There's perhaps a makeshift root cellar or a vault down below, probably where they are stashing the goods. Could be recent, reason why it's not on the blue prints," Steve said as he studied the thermo scan before he checked his gear. "Ok Chin, Kono, you take the south back entrance. Danny and me will take the north. Duke, you and your men cover the front. Shoot on sight if needed. Try to aim for the legs. The governor wants at least one alive to grill him. But no happy trigger finger. Danny's right. They could be innocent bystanders. " All nodded and he then signaled his team to break up into two groups. "All right, let's go."

While Duke and his men assumed their tactical position, the Five-0 team circumspectly advanced on their targets with guns equipped with lights if needed to guide them through the dark areas. After shooting off the padlock on the door, Steve and Danny proceeded warily inside the building, scanning every room and space as they slowly made their way to the main room where the four moving forms were spotted.

"So much for the effect of surprise!" Danny quipped to Steve without letting his guard down.

"How else was I going to break the padlock? Besides they can't be far," Steve was confident that they were closing in on them. He could smell them cowering in a corner as he carefully scoured the surroundings with a keen eye and sharp ear.

Minutes later, the four members met in the middle of the main floor.

"Nothing at our end, Boss," Kono said with an edge of petulance in her voice. She was visibly looking forward to kicking some butts.

However out of the corner of her eye, she spotted one trying to flee the scene. All four aimed the weapons in his direction. "Freeze! Five-0" Steve shouted, stopping the crook dead in his track. "On your knees! Hands laced behind your head."

While her colleagues kept their guns trained on the thug, Kono stepped up to him with a menacing stance and after a swift body search to check for concealed weapons, she roughly slapped the cuffs on him. She then hoisted him up by the shirt collar and brought him to her leader.

"Where are they others?" Steve asked calmly.

"What others?" the man taunted with a smug.

Steve stepped up to him to stand inches from his face and raising the tone to a domineering pitch, he reiterated, "I'll ask just once more. WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?"

"You must have me mistaken. I was here looking around the place. Heard it was on the market," he fibbed.

"So you're saying you're just a house hunter?"

"That's right."

Steve pulled out a few pictures from out of his pockets. He chose one and held it in front of the man. "Then why do you look like one of the eight wanted men of this arm dealers outfit?" Before this irrefutable evidence, the man remained tight-lipped. "There were four of you here. Where are the other three hiding?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the ruffian spoke condescendingly, raising Steve's hackles to a degree where the SEAL grabbed him by the neck.

"Easy, Steve." Danny spoke soothingly and grabbed his partner's arm to force him to release his grip on the choking man. "We want him alive."

"All right, if he won't tell, we'll blow them out."

"Woa, woa what blow, what, what do you mean blow them out?" Danny stuttered in shock.

"I'm talking about the cute little pineapples in the trunk of your car, partner. I told you they would come in handy."

"You're not seriously going to blast this building?"

"Danny, you, Chin and Kono stay here and look around some more. Perhaps you'll be lucky and find them so I won't have to use my grenades."

"Did he say grenades?" The thug's smug melted into a frown at the word.

"Yes he did." Danny smirked.

"He's not serious, is he?"

"You bet your last AK-47 he is. The man here is a former Navy SEAL. You know what those guys are? Animals but they get the job done."

Steve removed the scum from the premises and marched outside to hand him over to Duke's men. "We didn't find the three others so we'll scare them out."

Steve left to go fetch a few grenades and returned to Duke with the items safely tucked in his pockets.

"McGarrett, I hope you know what you're doing here? You said it yourself. We need them alive."

"Relax Duke. I'll use just the right amount to rattle the building and shake them out of their rat hole. I've looked around for anything potentially dangerous that could set secondary explosions and the floors were clean. There aren't any buildings around and the coast is clear."

"Those cute little toys of yours are liable to set the building on fire. This is a very old structure, made mostly out of wood. It'll light up in a flash."

"If it does, I'll be doing the city a favor anyway."

Steve spoke through his earpiece. "Chin, Kono, Danny, any luck?"

"No. We can't even locate a trap door anywhere."

"Okay clear out of there. I'm about to throw the grenades."

The team dispersed and headed toward the exits. Danny went back to where he first came in.

"Are you in the clear, Kono?"

"I'm out, boss," she confirmed.

"Chin?"

"I'm clear, Steve."

"Danny?"

"Yeah, just a sec." Having heard a slight noise coming from a cloakroom by the exit, he went to inspect it. "False alarm. Ok I'm clear." Danny was inches from the door when his feet got entangled in some barbed wires and tripped down on the floor, losing his earpiece. "Crap!" Before he could free himself, he heard a loud bang and his world went black.

It wasn't long before the thug's four associates were seen staggering out by a secret entrance on the side of the building catching on fire, coughing their lungs out.

"Hands in the air where we can see them!" Duke ordered through the loud speaker. "Get on your knees."

"There were five of them in there and I bet there are more hiding," Steve said.

"With that blast I say we scared them all out," Duke surmised and turned to the burning building on the verge of collapsing. "If there are any more, they'll get out before the roof caves in."

"Or they will use an underground passageway. These five might have been cut off from the trap door, reason why they were forced to get out of the building."

"S'kay, Steve. We got five. One of them is bound to spill his guts and we'll dismantle their network."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, but was nonetheless edgy at the thought of others escaping. "We'll need to sift through the rubbles afterwards and see if we can find the stash."

"Good job, boss," Kono praised with a pat on his shoulder.

"Danny? Have you seen Danny?" Steve asked as he looked around nervously to spot his partner.

"No. He did say he was in the clear?" Chin queried with some qualms.

"Yes he did. Danny?" Steve called out, his adrenalin shooting through him. His body tensed and his breath shortened at the sudden realization that his partner might have been trapped inside at the time of the blast. "Danny? Danny, where are you?" With numbed horror, Steve stared at the now raging fire before him. "Oh my God! He's still inside." He took to his feet before anyone could stop him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Steve!" Duke shouted. "Don't go in there. The whole building is about to collapse." His warning fell on deaf ear as the distraught man shot through the front door.

With arms shielding his eyes from the blazing inferno, he shouted Danny's name repeatedly. The heat was picking up intensity but Steve had only one purpose in mind, which was to find his partner.

"Duke, check the south exit," Chin instructed." Kono and I we'll check the north, see if Danny had time to get out and that he's just unconscious on the ground."

"All right."

Both cousins went around the building but there were no signs of Danny.

Inside the burning building, Steve searched the ground for his partner with a pronounced squint. He finally spotted him a few feet away from the door, slumped over on the floor, unconscious.

Steve lunged at him and squatted down to try to shake him awake. "Danny! Come on, wake up!" He reached for the blond's neck. Relieved to find a pulse he swayed to his feet, then bent down to secure his arms underneath Danny's armpits and started to bodily drag him toward the exit. However the blast had jammed the access and Steve found himself trapped.

"Danny!" Steve heard called from outside the door.

"Chin! The door is stuck. See if you can open it from outside."

Tried as they did, Chin and Kono could no pry open the door. "Can't Steve!" Chin shouted.

"Stand back! I'm gonna kick it down."

Steve's repeated kicks caused vibration that triggered parts of the ceiling to rain down on him, momentarily stunning him. He quickly shook the dizziness away to resume his task. Once he finally succeeded in kicking the door open, he hurriedly hauled Danny up and swung him on his shoulder to stagger out of the inferno.

Once safely out of immediate danger, Steve hacked his lungs out and slumped to the ground, then tried to revive his partner. "Come on, Danny. Stay with me now."

Chin reached for the neck. "He's got a pulse." He then glued his ear to Danny's nose. "He's not breathing, though." Quickly he started pushing air into his lungs while Kono hurried to Duke to get an Ambu bag. Fire truck sirens were heard in the distance.

She came back to hand the bag over to Chin while Steve could only watch in a complete daze, as he struggled to remain alert. "Duke called 911. An ambulance's on its way." The word resounded like a buzz inside Steve's mind, but it was comforting enough to make him lose his battle with consciousness.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Hours later at the hospital, Chin and Kono were keeping a vigil on their leader when he suddenly jolted awake.

Kono jumped from her chair and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Steve, it's okay. You're safe now." She spoke soothingly to the frantic patient, whose eyes swirled wildly about. Chin stood on the other side of the bed, poised ready to intervene if Steve got rough.

"Easy there, Steve," Chin spoke calmly. "You're in a hospital. Easy now. Calm down." He waited for his friend's coughing and erratic breathing to settle before he asked, "Do you want some water?" Steve nodded. "Kono?"

Kono poured a glass of water and dunked a straw in it. She brought it to Steve lips. "Tiny sips, now," she instructed as her boss hungrily quenched his thirst down his raw throat.

"Do you remember what happened?" Chin asked.

Steve closed his eyes and took a brief moment to summon his memory of the incident. In a flash, his eyes shot open, his breath caught in his throat and his heart rate on the monitor skyrocketed. "Danny!" he choked out hoarsely and turned to Kono with a hunted look. "Where's Danny?"

"Easy Steve!" Kono grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Easy! He's in the next room."

"How...how is he?"

The forlorn expression passing through the cousins' eyes wasn't lost on Steve. "Please, tell me. Is he all right?"

"He's, he's resting right now." Kono managed to prevaricate, but Steve wasn't easily fooled as the eyes belied her true emotions.

"I want to see him," Steve said more as a statement than as a request. As he started rising out of bed, a sudden bout of dizziness seized him, compelling him to lie back.

"Later Steve. Right now you both need your rest."

"I'll rest when I know he's all right," Steve insisted, again hauling himself into a sitting position. Once the rising nausea subsided, he swung his legs on the side on the mattress.

"Kono, get the doctor," Chin urged her cousin, knowing there would be no reasoning the stubborn SEAL.

"Chin, help me up, will you?" Steve reached his hand out to Chin who hesitated as he saw how the effort alone drained all color from his friend's face. "Please," Steve begged.

To Chin's relief, the doctor appeared in the door with Kono. "Commander McGarrett, what are you doing?" the woman doctor upbraided and quickly grabbed her patient by the shoulders to settle him back down on the bed and checked the IV line and electrodes on his chest to see if they were still in place. "You are not to get up."

"I'm fine. I can walk."

"That may be so but I will not have you out of that bed for at least the next twelve hours, save perhaps for bathroom breaks and with someone to help you until you can safely walk without stumbling," she spoke authoritatively as she adjusted the sheet over him.

"How's my partner?"

"You must be referring to Detective Williams?" she caught the fear in the cousins' eyes, cautioning her to spare him the bad news for now. "He's resting in the next room. You can see him tomorrow."

"No, I want to see him now!" Steve roared with all the might he could muster.

"Do I have to sedate you? Because I will if you don't behave and heed my instructions."

As exhaustion crept up, Steve forfeited the fight. His eyes glazed over and he soon drifted off.

"Thank you, Doctor Karnes," Chin gratefully acknowledged her help in subduing the patient.

"He'll need to be told about his partner, but right now is definitely not a good time. It can do him more harm than good. Hopefully tomorrow his vitals will be stronger and he will be able to absorb the shock."

"We hope so."

"Incidentally have you notified Detective Williams's parents?"

"Yes. They're flying in from New Jersey. Barring any flight delays they should be here tomorrow afternoon. I'll go pick them up at the airport," Chin informed.

"We also notified his ex-wife," Kono added. "She's in England with their daughter. She should be back a day after tomorrow."

"Good." Doctor Karnes glanced at her slumbering patient with sympathy. "I'll order that he'd be given a light sedative to make sure he sleeps through the night but if he should wake again, have the night nurse page me."

"We will. Thank you, Doctor."

Kono and Chin prepared for a long night of vigil and hoped that Steve would sleep soundly till the morning.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Early the next morning, Kono was sleeping on the couch across from Steve's bed when she heard a noise. She blinked open her eyes and saw Chin setting a bag of paper with two coffee cups on the table tray. He'd gone home late last night after she had offered to take the next shift, but sleep had crept up on her and before she knew it, she was fast asleep on the sofa.

"Chin? What time is it?" she asked through a yawn.

"It's nearly eight thirty."

She rose to her feet and stretched out her limbs, rolling her head from side to side to get the crick out of her neck, as she made her way to the bed where the patient still lay sleeping. "Has he awakened?"

"Not yet and I want to keep it that way for as long as we can."

"When did you come in?"

"About an hour ago. I didn't want to wake you up."

"At what time are Danny's parents landing in Honolulu?"

"Their ETA is three thirty this afternoon," he sighed and veered off subject. "Here, Malia got us coffee and some malasadas."

"Thanks." As she reached into the bag, she noticed Chin's haggard look. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I managed to catch a few winks early this morning after you took over the shift."

A small throaty moan from the bed prompted both cousins to interrupt their breakfast. They stepped up to the bed and watched as two hazy blue eyes peered through a slit.

"Welcome back, Boss," Kono greeted with a smile. "How are you feeling? Any pain?"

Steve shook his head weakly and swallowed dryly.

"Kono, would you go fetch some fresh water?" Chin asked.

Kono did her cousin's bidding and left the room momentarily to fill the pitcher of water from the cooler down the hall.

Steve's eyes gleaned over the room and settled on Chin with a questioning look. "You're in a hospital. Don't you remember?"

It took a few seconds for Steve's muddled brain to register. With a lazy hand he signaled Chin to raise the head bed.

"Yeah, hold on." Chin adjusted the head to a comfortable level. "How's that? Not dizzy?"

Steve shook his head. A dry swallow elicited a small cough that sent a searing pain through his head. He squished his eyes shut and hissed in pain. Kono returning with the water was Heaven sent. Quickly Chin filled up a glass and tipped the straw to Steve's lips who drank heartily, causing him to slightly choke as the cool liquid hit the back of his parched throat and in turn, exacerbated the pounding in his head.

"Where's Danny?" Steve croaked out.

Chin and Kono exchanged grim looks.

"He's resting in the next room," Chin replied, hoping Steve would not insist to go to him as he did yesterday.

Steve's mind took only seconds to process the signification behind the glances. "How bad?" came the straightforward question that took both cousins unawares.

"You remember what happened?"

With eyes at half-mast, he nodded weakly, "Enough to know that you're hiding the truth from me. He's bad, isn't he?" Steve braced himself for the answer that was late at coming. "Guys, please, don't shield me. I need to know the truth."

"He's in a coma, Steve," Kono finally confided.

"And," Steve insisted sensing how there was more to that answer.

"And the doctors aren't optimistic as to his chances of recovery," Chin continued.

"His parents are flying in this afternoon to...," Kono's voice trailed off as she couldn't bring herself to tell Steve. She glanced up at Chin with tears brimming in her eyes.

"To decide whether or not to take him off the respirator. He's brain dead, Steve," Chin finished for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thank you so much for your interest in this story. I even seem to have sparked a debate on the whole 'Brain dead' subject. I may not be a doctor but I've done some research on the topic before writing this story. I can safely assure you that this is NOT a death fanfic but shut! Steve and company don't know that yet._**

The word brought Steve's world to a standstill. His gaze froze on Chin, unable to move or even breathe.

Chin nudged him on the shoulder. "Steve, are you okay?"

Steve sucked in a breath and grabbed Chin's arm. "Take me to him," he asked huskily with pleading eyes. "Please. I want to see him."

Chin acquiesced to his friend's request, knowing that the doctor had given her consent earlier when she came in to remove the IV drip and heart monitor. Kono brought a wheelchair next to the bed and together, they assisted Steve in it.

"There! Are you comfy?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Doctor Karnes was seen reading the latest result of the patient's EEG scan when Chin wheeled Steve into Danny's room.

"Commander, how are you feeling?"

Steve gave a curt nod and focused on his friend lying deathly still, hooked to a respirator with a bandage around his head. Chin brought him the rest of the way. "How is he?"

"The latest EEG results show no brainwave activity and he's not responding to any stimuli."

"But that can change, right?" Steve challenged.

"He suffered a traumatic brain injury and there was extensive hemorrhage. Thankfully we were able to stop the bleeding, but most likely too late to avoid irreversible damage."

"But you're not sure?" Steve pushed on.

"Right now the test results are definitely not encouraging."

"Why are you being evasive, doctor?" Steve said annoyingly. "You're not answering my question."

"I can tell you what you want to hear, Commander!" she bit back her irritation, "But that wouldn't be the truth."

"Please, leave me alone with him."

All three retreated quietly, leaving the grieving SEAL with his 'brother'.

Steve took in the ghostly appearance of his partner with a foul taste in his mouth. He swallowed the bile rising to his throat and staggered to his feet. He lowered the bed rail to sit on the bed. He gently clasped Danny's limp hand. "I don't care what the doctors say. I know you're in there somewhere. You're just taking time out from all this craziness and I can't blame you. I wish you would give me a sign, however little it is, to let me know that you can hear me and that you will fight your way back to us." Steve glanced down at the hand cradled in his, biting his lip in anticipation of a light squeeze. "That's okay. You take your time. I'll be here for you, partner. You just rest and get better, okay?"

The stubborn SEAL refused to abandon his friend to his fate. He forced himself to maintain a positive outlook, however bleak the present might be. A gnawing guilt was slowly taken root within and was already beginning to chew away at him. He remained by Danny's side and refused to yield to his growing exhaustion.

An hour later, Chin and Kono found Steve slumped over on the bed, his head resting against Danny's shoulder. They both methodically, and as gingerly as possible, lifted Steve off the bed. The tug made him rose with a start, his eyes instantly shifting to Danny. After much persuasion, he allowed them to assist him to the nearby couch.

"My fault," Steve mumbled before his mind switched off.

"What's he talking about?" Kono asked puzzled.

Chin shook his head with a deep worried frown.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Later that evening, Chin brought Danny's parents to meet with the neurologist to be given the grim prognostic before they were escorted to their comatose son's room, where they found Steve keeping a faithful vigil in his wheelchair by the bed.

"Steve!" Mrs. Williams exclaimed upon noticing him in the chair.

"Mister and Mrs. Williams!" Steve wheeled his chair around to face them and then stood on his still wobbly legs to fall into the woman's outstretched arms.

When they pulled back she winced at his drawn appearance. "My Goodness, darling boy, are you okay?"

The careworn man fashioned a tired smile. "I'm good."

"Doctor Karnes tells us you were also injured in the fire," Danny's dad said.

"It was just a bump on the head, a few burns and smoke inhalation, nothing serious," Steve assured.

"Uh-huh," the man was not convinced as he eyed Steve from head to toe.

Steve took Danny's mom by the arm and both stepped up to the bed. She held a hand to her mouth as she set eyes on the sight before her.

"Oh Bob. Not my Daniel. It can't be," she sobbed into his chest as he held her tight.

The heartrending grief spilling in the room made Steve's guilt crank up a notch. He laboured to keep his own anguish from mixing with the parents'.

"I know Danny's in there and that he's fighting," Steve maintained, trying more so to convince himself.

"But the doctor says that..."

"I know what she said, but I also know there's hope and we can't give up on him. I'm not."

Steve's concern for her boy overwhelmed her, but at the same time she felt that his confidence might be misplaced. She reached out to her son's soul brother and hugged him. "You're a good friend. Danny spoke so highly of you. He said that you always had his back."

Steve squished his eyes together to hold the tears from gushing out. She had hit the sore spot dead on. He unconsciously tightened the clench, refusing to let go until the tremors subsided.

When they finally disengaged the embrace, Steve quickly regained his bearings. "Where are you staying?"

"We took a room at the Hilton for the time being. We don't know how long we will be here," the father said.

"Nonsense! You're staying at my house. There's plenty of room."

"We wouldn't want to be put you out."

Steve shook his head. "You won't be, believe me. I'd love to have you around. Get a chance to know you better and you'll be a few minutes away from the hospital."

"If you're sure it won't be an inconvenience, then we'd love to accept your offer," she said with a grateful smile.

"I should be out tomorrow. I'll help you move in."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

The next day, Steve was given his release papers. He urged Kono and Chin to return to HQ to continue coercing the jailbirds to spill the beans about their leader's whereabouts. The arms dealer's network was reportedly still in operation, though with the loss of five of their top elite members, business was nearly ground to a halt. Their biggest clients had received word of the Five-0 bust and as a result, were a bit hesitant to deal with the crippled cartel.

Danny's parents checked out of the Hilton and together with Steve, they were given a ride to his house by Kamekona. Once they settled in the guest room, all three returned to the hospital.

Doctor Karnes brought the three aside and delivered the same grim news about Danny's condition. There was no improvement whatsoever and that a decision would have to be made regarding his living will and organ donation.

Although the parents wished to follow Steve's lead in his firm belief that Danny would eventually come out of the coma, they seriously swayed the doctor's way when they were told that if by some miracle their son should emerge from his coma, he would most likely live with the brain level of a child.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

With the guarantee that they would be notified at first sign of a change in their son's condition, Danny's parents returned with Steve to his house. After partaking in a light supper, they went off to bed to get some rest, though sleep was hard to come for all three.

In the wee hours of the morning, Mrs. Williams went to the kitchen to fix herself a glass of warm milk before heading back to her room. As she crossed the living room, she heard muffled sounds coming from Steve's bedroom. Concerned, she climbed up the stairs to find her host at the grip of a powerful nightmare.

"No Dannnnnny. Why? Noooot out. Wait! Wait! Stop! No! My fault!"

She set her glass on the night stand and sat on the bed next to the trashing man. "Steve! Steve, honey, wake up," she spoke soothingly while nudging his shoulder. "Shuuuuu it's okay. Wake up!"

He jolted out of sleep, panting. He tried to focus on the shadowy form sitting beside him. "Danny?"

"No, it's me." She switched on the light that instantly made him wince.

He blinked to dispel the haze out of his eyes and ran a hand over his sweaty face.

"You were having a nightmare," she said while rubbing his arm.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"No you didn't. I was in the kitchen fixing myself a glass of warm milk when I heard you crying in your sleep, saying something about Danny and your fault?"

Steve shut his eyes and drew in a deep breath before gazing up at the woman. "It's my fault Danny's in a coma," he confessed. The burden of guilt had been crushing him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Danny, Danny was still in the building when I," he choked on a sob, unable to finish his thought. He bit his lip and looked away from the dark stare of the bewildered woman.

"Go on."

"He said he was in the clear, so I threw the grenades. The crooks emerged out of the building on fire, and once they were apprehended I realized that Danny was nowhere in sight." Steve gnarled his teeth to suppress the flood of tears rushing to his eyes. His body was seized by tremors as he recalled the horrific scene. "I rushed in and found him unconscious on the floor, fire all around."

She could sense that he was crumbling. She held a hand to his forehead and lovingly smoothed his hair back as he continued.

"At first I thought he'd been knocked out and was merely unconscious. I had no idea it was so bad that he," his sobbing voice faltered as a rush of tears invaded his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

Mrs. Williams sat closer to the distraught man and with a hand on his cheek turned his head to face her. "Daniel assured you that he was out of the building, did he not?" When Steve failed to answer, she insisted. "Didn't he?"

Steve forced a nod. "But I should have waited till I saw him before I went off and..."

"Now you listen to me, young man," she said forcefully to draw his attention. "Danny told me that he trusted you implicitly with his safety. He entrusted you with his very own life. That you always had his back as he described it."

"That went both ways."

"I'm sure it did. Did you throw those grenades knowing he was still inside the building? No. Did you wait until he told you that he was out? Yes. So you have nothing to feel guilty about. It was an accident."

"I should have waited. I was too damn eager to get those felons out that I didn't even stop to consider the possibility that he could have tripped or...I don't know. Your son always ranted about me being reckless and too fast on the draw. That someday I would pay dearly for my mistakes and...," he felt a pinch in his chest as another powerful wave of tears gushed out, "he's the one who...Oh my God, poor Grace. I can't face her."

"You can and you will. She and Rachel will be here tomorrow. That little girl will need to be told about her father. My husband and I will not make any decision until all of Daniel's family is reunited, and that includes you, Steve."

His heart swelled up at her avowal, which he thought he didn't deserve.

"Besides my husband and I are seeking a second and third opinion. Like you, we are not giving up on our son." She leaned in and placed a motherly kiss on his forehead. "You get some sleep now."

He nodded and with a sniff, he closed his eyes with an overwhelming remorse.


	4. Chapter 4

**_For those who are wondering, there will be more Steve physical whump in the upcoming chapters. For now I'm putting him through the emotional grinder.  
_**

The next day, Steve decided to get a crack at one of the gangsters they caught, hoping to scare him into revealing the location of their leader.

"Mantooth," Steve snarled upon entering the interrogation room with Chin. "you're the number-two man, isn't that right?" he asked the ruffian sitting in a chair in the middle of the windowless cell.

"Maybe," the crook taunted, looking away with a smug.

"You want to tell us who your ringleader is and where he's hiding?" Steve asked calmly with arms crossed against his puffy chest.

The man broke into a hearty guffaw. "You ask so nicely McGarrett that I'm almost tempted to tell you," his smirk morphed into a smoldering glare as he leaned forward in his chair, "but I won't."

Steve stood defiantly and pursed his lips to refrain from erupting like a volcano. "I could ask a court leniency against any information you can provide us and with a witness protection." The felon looked away with a satisfied grin. "You're no fool, Mantooth. You know what that guy will do to you when he finds out you snitched."

"But I won't."

"We'll make sure to get the word out that you did and then," Steve's eyebrow quirked, "we'll let you go."

"You don't scare me, McGarrett. The rest of our men are watching your every move. You may get the word out but beware if you give off the wrong information, they'll know you made it up."

Out of the blue, Steve grabbed the man by the shirt and shoved him against the wall. "I ought to kill you, right now."

"Go ahead," he mocked. "You're good at that, including killing your own partner."

In a blink of an eye Steve blew his lid. He clawed at the man's shirt to lift him up and hurled him across the room where he landed on the floor with a hollow thud.

"Steve!" Chin was heard yelling but the vials of wrath pouring out made the SEAL deaf to any warning. Nostrils flaring like a raging bull in front of a red cape, Steve came back with a vengeance, pouncing on the dazed man and delivering a hard blow to the stomach before Chin could contain him.

"Steve! Not that way! Easy now."

Steve twitched his arms free from Chin's grip and stuck out his chin defiantly.

"You should do something about that temper of yours, McGarrett," Mantooth scolded, as he teetered to his feet, holding his stomach with one hand and with the other, he rubbed the back of his head where he landed hard on the concrete floor.

The sight of Steve's dark seething eyes sent chills down Chin's spine. He had witnessed his leader losing his temper before but this was no typical SEAL anger. He was possessed and downright scary.

"Steve, let me do it, okay brah?" Chin risked a hand on Steve's broad shoulder and could feel the stiffened muscles shivering with adrenalin. Steve was transfixed on the man brushing himself off. "Steve?"

"All right, Chin," he puffed out. "You get that sonavabitch to spill his guts or I will come back and gut him myself."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Frustration grew at Five-0 headquarters at the lack of headway in the arms dealer case. Although some of their loot had been recovered in an underground bunker underneath the old building, all five apprehended members remained tight-lipped about the location of their gang leader. Steve knew he'd failed to deliver what he'd promised the governor and therefore, the FBI was ready to take over the case.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

On one afternoon, Steve was sitting in a chair by the beach with a Longboard in hand. He was staring out the ocean, lost to the world when a feminine voice yanked him back to reality.

"Rachel!" he exclaimed. He set his beer down and stood to hug her. "Have you been to see Danny?"

"Not yet. We came here straight from the airport."

Steve turned to see little Grace with her grandmother walking toward them.

"Have you told Gracie yet?"

"She knows that her father is in the hospital but I didn't have the strength to tell her more."

"Uncle Steve!" the bubbly pony-tailed girl exulted as she ran into her darling uncle's awaiting arms.

Steve swooped down to her level and clenched her into a bear hug, running his hand through her hair before he landed a kiss on her forehead. "Hi sweetheart. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Uncle Steve. We came back early from England because mom says Danno's very sick."

Steve glanced up at Rachel whose eyes were filling up with tears. He stood and clasped Grace's hand. "Why don't you and me go for a walk on the beach."

She nodded eagerly and turned to her mother. "Can we, mommy?"

"Of course, darling. Go ahead."

Steve nodded his message to Rachel that he would explain Danny's condition to the little girl. She nodded back knowing that he would be as gentle as he possibly can in breaking the news to her daughter.

Rachel and Mrs. Williams hugged before they watched the pair walk along the beach. Minutes passed before they saw Steve stop, hunch down to Grace's level and clasp both her hands. The little girl clung to his every word before her face crumpled and she fell into her uncle's arms in tears.

They returned moments later.

"We're going to see Danno at the hospital," a bleary-faced Grace told her mother as she took her hand. With the other, she tugged at Steve's hand to follow them to the house.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Steve drove Rachel and Grace to the hospital. They stopped by the gift shop to buy a small stuffed monkey that Grace baptised 'Danno' before they headed up to Danny's room, where the grating sound of the artificial respirator greeted them, which was somewhat intimidating to the little girl.

Steve nudged her along. "Go ahead, Gracie. He needs to hear your voice."

"Will he hear me?" she asked with a shy optimism.

"He may not respond but I know he can hear us. Talk to him, sweetheart." He picked her up and lifted her onto the bed so that she could lie down next to her father, careful not to jostle the breathing tube and get entangled in the IV line.

She delicately placed the toy monkey in the crook of her father's arm. "Danno, I brought you a little monkey. I named him Danno, like you. I hope he will bring you comfort just like Stevie the Seal you bought for me. I sleep with him every night knowing that he will protect me from the big bad monsters in my dreams."

Steve pursed his lips to keep his emotions from spilling over, as he watched the heartbreaking scene unfolding before him. Rachel squeezed his arm before stepping up to the bed.

"Uncle Steve says that you can hear me. He says that you might not wake up for a very long time but that you're still here," she tapped his heart.

The bubble burst at the distressing sight and Steve could no longer hold it together. He quietly slipped out of the room and hurried down the hall to the exit. Once outside, he exhaled the breath he'd been holding and with it, a torrent of tears. His heart was shattering and his mind was exploding. The guilt came rushing back, making his body break out in uncontrollable spasms.


	5. Chapter 5

Nearly five weeks cascaded down with Danny remaining fairly the same. Doctor Karnes sounded like an old broken record whenever she was asked for an update on her patient's condition. The second and third opinions confirmed the neurologist's prognosis, but Danny's parents would not relent, mostly due to Steve's firm belief that his friend would eventually come back. The subject of organ harvesting disgusted Steve and wondered if this was the ultimate purpose to this 'brain dead' diagnosis.

At the Palace, Kono and Chin were hunched over the smart table, working on a new murder case in conjunction with HPD when an unexpected visitor walked up to them.

"Well, if it isn't my two favourite cousins!"

They swirled around, surprised. "Tony! Tony Archer!" Chin exclaimed.

"How ya doing, kid?" the old man asked as he pulled Chin into a bear hug.

"Not too bad."

"Come here, girl."

Kono excitedly fell into Tony's arms.

"Tony, what are you doing here?" Kono asked curiously. "You're a long way from Brooklyn."

"I got a call from a pal at Newark PD. He told me what happened to my Danny boy and since I was out in California, I decided to hop on a plane and come and see you all. How are you, really?" he asked earnestly.

Both cousins glanced dejectedly at one another. "We're managing," Chin answered unconvincingly.

"How is Steve taking it?"

"I won't lie to you, he's a mess."

"I can imagine. He and Danny are joined at the hip. You hurt one, you wound the other."

"We just can get it through his head that what happened wasn't any of his fault, but he won't listen," Kono explained.

"He's one stubborn cuss, I know. Where is he now?"

"Probably at the hospital. Danny's at Queen's."

"I'll go see him."

"You are most probably the sight for sore eyes he needs right now."

"Hopefully." Tony clasped both cousins' hands before leaving. "You hang in there, you two."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Tony drove to the hospital where instead of finding Steve, he met with Danny's parents keeping a vigil on their son. Following the mutual introduction and a brief update on Danny's condition, he learned that Steve had left an hour ago without given word of his destination. A good guess would be that he was headed back home.

On the way to Steve's house, Tony's cell rang. He picked it up and answered. "Tony Archer."

"Thank God, Tony! I was hoping you'd kept the same number."

"What's up, Chin?"

"Kono just received a call from the bartender at the Kaila Lounge in Waikiki. Steve is there drinking himself into a drunken stupor and he's in no condition to drive."

"What's the address?" Tony memorized the number. "Okay I'm on my way. I'll bring our boy home safe and sound."

Tony took a quick gander at the next street's sign and made a right turn in direction of Waikiki.

He arrived a few minutes later to find Steve drowning his sorrow into what appeared to be a glass of straight hard liquor, which was unusual for the former SEAL who preferred beer.

Tony casually made his way to the wretched man sitting at the end of the bar.

"Steve?" he said, sliding onto the stool next to him.

Steve blinked and turned to the voice. It took a few seconds for his addled brain to register the face staring at him. "Well how about that, Tony Archer!" he slurred, slapping his arm across his shoulder to pull him into a hug. "You son-of-a-gun you! What brings you back to Hawaii?"

"I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd drop by," he ribbed.

"Yeah, right," Steve scoffed giddily. "All the way from Brooklyn?"

"Closer. California."

Steve tapped Tony on the shoulder. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, buddy boy, but," he took on a sombre look as he eyed the inebriated man from eye to toe, "not like this. This isn't like you, Steve. Since when do you drink hard liquor?"

"Since I killed my partner," Steve confessed matter-of-factly, getting a few heads to turn his way. "Bartender," he hailed. "Drink for my friend here. I'm buying."

Tony waved the bartender away. "I'm fine, thanks."

"Oh come on Tony boy! You've got to join me."

"Okay I will, but at your house. Not here." Tony went to take Steve by the arm but he quickly wrenched it free.

"NO!" Steve roared and pointed his finger sluggishly at the counter. "I'm staying right here where the bar is bountiful of this mind-numbing liquor." He lazily put his hand on Tony's arm and with eyes at half-mast he drawled, "I feel good."

"No you don't," Tony was quick to contradict, getting a slight rise out of Steve who eyed him curiously.

"Don't lecture me," Steve warned with a jab on Tony's chest. "You have no idea what it's like to watch your best friend's, your soul brother's little girl's heart break because she'll grow up without a father. I took that away from her."

Tony clawed at the pathetic man's arm and pushed it down. "I met with Danny's parents earlier. They told me that you don't believe his case is hopeless."

"Yeah. Foolish nonsense thinking Danny's still alive. Everyone says he is brain dead but good ole Stevie boy here didn't want to believe it."

"And now you do?" Steve merely hung his head. "You want to tell me what happened? I mean in all the details?" Steve nodded languidly. "Okay, then we do it at your house, not here. Deal?"

"Okay," Steve agreed and allowed Tony to escort him out the door to the car.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

On the ride home, Steve was silent with his head resting against the back of his seat, as he struggled to keep the nausea down.

Once they arrived at the house, the once tough-as-nails SEAL was reduced to a pitiful rag doll that Tony had to drag to the front door. He stopped and rummaged through the cargo pants pocket to retrieve the keys. No sooner had they stepped into the house that Steve slumped to his knees to empty the content of his stomach.

"Come on. Let's get you upstairs to bed," Tony said as he hauled Steve to his feet and looped his arm across his waist.

"It was my fault. Should have waited," Steve continued his drunken litany while Tony lugged him across the living room to the staircase. He steadied his footing and headed up with his burden carrying on about his misplaced guilt.

"You'll tell me all about it tomorrow," Tony humored as he assisted the lump to his bed. Steve passed out the minute his head hit the pillow.

Tony removed his shoes and covered him with a thin blanket. He stood by the bed to take in the wretched sight of a man who once stood proud and confident. What was to become of him, he wondered.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

It was mid morning the next day when Steve rose with a killer hangover. He stumbled out of bed and staggered down the stairs, holding his throbbing head with one hand and grappling the wall for balance with the other. He paused briefly halfway down to swallow the rising nausea threatening to erupt before resuming his painful trek downstairs.

He squinted against the bright light filtering through the living room windows, as he slouched to the kitchen where Tony was sitting at the table eating his French toasts.

"Hey there, buddy boy!" Tony greeted cheerily.

"Tony," he drawled out. "What are you doing here?"

"I slept on the couch last night. I hope you don't mind?"

Steve risked a shake of the head and slid over to a chair where he sat across from Tony. He rested his elbows on the table and cradled his heavy head in his hands.

"Mrs. Williams left you some French toasts, but I doubt your stomach is in any condition to even smell them." Steve just heaved out a groan as answer. "Want some coffee?"

"Just water, please."

Tony went to refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of water and twisted the cap off before handing it over his to zombied friend. Steve took two hearty gulps and waited for the bile to go down before he crossed his arms on the table and laid his head on them.

"First hangover?"

Steve tilted his head toward Tony and blinked heavily. "Not really but I don't remember them being this bad," Steve droned out with his bloodshot eyes drooping. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine o'clock."

Steve shot up straight with the jolt backward making his head spin. He squished his eyes tightly shut and gagged.

"Hold on. I'll get a bowl."

Steve held his hand up. "S'okay. It'll pass." He breathed out the queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach before he hauled himself off the table. "Got to go to the hospital."

Tony placed his hands on Steve's shoulders and forced him back down on his chair. "Steve, sit. Danny's parents are with him right now. You can take a break. Besides you're in no shape to go out right now," Tony said of his disheveled hair, unshaven face and overall pitiful appearance.

Steve had to agree with Tony's statement. He looked wretched and felt worse. Tony resumed his seat across from Steve and stared at him expectantly. "Want to tell me about it?"

One heavy sigh later, Steve nodded and began expounding on the raid. Sniffles and choking hiccups punctuated his testimony of the unfolding events as he recalled them, putting emphasis on the end tragedy.

"I see," Tony exhaled as if to unload some of Steve's burden off his shoulders. His heart ached for the young man, and was at a complete loss on how to root out the guilt associated with Danny's plight. Instead he offered an alternate remedy to momentarily sway Steve's mind off Danny.

"Rick Mantooth. That name sounds awfully familiar."

"You know him?"

"Offhand, I can't recall. I'll need to make a few phone calls to my buddies in Brooklyn, see if they can fill in the blanks."

"I'd really appreciate. Any information you can provide on that bastard could help us make headway in this case."

"Thought you just said it was handed over to the FBI?"

"Not entirely. It's still Five-0 territory."

Tony flashed a curl of the lip and patted Steve on the shoulder, making his wince. "Sorry. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Days went by with still no change in Danny's condition. Tony's contacts not yielding any results in the arms dealer case contributed in fueling Steve's fire tenfold. Friends undertook desperate measures to help him cope with the everyday situation, but it was all in vain, as the former SEAL continued on the same path of destruction, throwing himself into his work between visits to the hospital.

Governor Denning had to resign himself putting McGarrett on temporarily leave, seeing how his health was deteriorating and his sense of perception and discrimination was seriously clouded by Williams' fate. Steve was irate and tried to dispute the decision, but ultimately he had to comply with orders.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

When Five-0 got word that the arms dealer ring's number-two man, Rick Mantooth, had deftly managed to slip through the Feds' fingers. Chin and Kono wanted to keep the news of his escape from Steve at all cost, knowing that he would probably go half-cocked on a killing spree given his brittle state of mind.

One morning on his way to the hospital, a gaunt-looking Steve dropped by the Palace and searched for the two missing team members. He checked out the latest data feed on the smart table and came across the open file of Mantooth's escape.

Steve was livid, breathing fire and fury. The report was dated three days ago, meaning Chin and Kono had deliberately kept the newsflash for him. Rage reached a boiling point as he darted inside his office, smashing the door open against the wall, and headed to his desk. He pulled open the top drawer where he usually kept a spare gun. However the drawer was empty, save for a few loose sheets.

He yanked the drawer off its hinges and with veins throbbing at his neck, he frantically searched the other drawers for his weapon.

"Dammit!" he thundered. With one angry swipe he cleared his desk, hurling the contents onto the floor. Vehement emotions swirled. His body shook with the need to assuage his SEAL killer instinct, one that he very seldom let people see.

"Let's call in the interior decorator if you want to remodel the place," Tony quipped upon casually entering the office.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve seethed. He was foaming at the mouth at what he misguidedly believed was the ultimate betrayal.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked innocently.

"Rick Mantooth. He escaped from the Halawa Correctional Facility three days ago."

"Don't worry, Steve. They have a tail on him."

"Why," he snarled, "why did they keep that information from me?"

Tony crossed his arms and stared at the incensed man. "Why do you think?"

Steve was losing it. He went back to his desk to once again search for his gun.

"Is that what you're looking for?" Tony held the gun in front of him.

In three long strides, Steve moved over to Tony to twitch the gun off his hand but the sprightly was quicker. "You're not getting it."

"Tony, I'm in no mood to play games. GIVE...ME...THE...GUN!"

"If you would just come down your high horse for a minute and let me explain."

"Explain what? How you deceived me by keeping me in the dark about Mantooth's escape? Give me the gun."

"So you can take off after a man you have no idea where is hiding? I won't let you. Look at you! You're an emotional wreck. You're fit to be tied!"

"Tony, please," Steve asked calmly.

"Why are you so hell-bent on going after him? Is it because of what he made you do to Danny?" Steve closed his eyes as he felt he could no longer hold back. "Personal vendettas can get innocent people kill, buddy."

In a bat of an eye, Steve lunged at Tony and grabbed his wrist, twisting it to make him relinquish the gun. Although much older, Tony kept his ground and swept Steve's leg to send him to the floor. Steve quickly bounced back and retaliated with a swing to the face.

However Tony swiftly ducked out of the way and instead, grabbed Steve in a chokehold, one that surprisingly the trained SEAL could not disentangled himself from, courtesy of his flagging health.

"For God's sake, Steve! You need to let it go!" Tony could feel the earthquake of tremors invading Steve's body as he tried vainly to gain the upper hand. However his mind was already forfeiting the fight. "Come on, son, let it out. Let it all out!" he coaxed, as he slowly released the pressure on the neck hold and slid his arms around Steve's torso to prepare for the eruption.

"Dannnnnnny!" Steve wailed, shortly followed by a long overdue raging river of choking sobs and tears that painfully racked his shattered frame. "I'm sooooooooory!"

With tears polling in his own eyes, Tony held Steve tightly against him as he bawled his lungs out. Both slowly slid to the floor where they remained until Steve drifted off from complete exhaustion.


	6. Chapter 6

**_I appreciate each and every single comment that you readers left in the last chapter. Indeed that chapter was an emotional humdinger to write and I'm glad to see that I passed the feeling along to you all. It was very gratifying to a new writer like me to read that you were moved by Steve's breakdown. _ _Keep them coming!_**

It was two hours later when Steve awoke to the sound of muffled voices. He felt drained of all his energy as he attempted to pry his eyelids open. Once he established that he was lying on the couch of his office, he swung his legs on the floor and stole a moment to suck in some strength before staggering to his feet.

He noticed Chin, Kono and Tony conversing around the smart table. Puzzled he went over to them.

"Hey Steve! How are you feeling?" Tony asked.

"Like I've been drained of all my blood," he joked before turning earnest. "What's going on?"

"Duke just called. They cornered Mantooth."

"Where?"

"He's barricaded himself in a house on Kilua Street. He's reportedly armed with an assault rifle and is holding two hostages. A woman and child. A SWAT team in on site."

Steve went to the gun cabinet to retrieve an automatic rifle that he checked for ammunition. "You all geared up?" Kono and Chin each grabbed a hold of their respective weapon and nodded.

Tony grabbed Steve by arm and stared him in the eyes. "Son, are you sure you're up to this?"

Steve flashed him a reassuring smile that somehow belied his true intentions. "I'm sure."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

They arrived on the scene where police cars and a SWAT van were parked a few feet from the besieged house. Four FBI agents were also present, including one acting as the mediator.

They spotted Duke and headed toward him to get the lowdown on the situation at hand.

"He's in there and won't budge until we get him what he wants."

"What are his demands?" Steve asked.

"Safe passage out of the country or he'll kill the hostages."

"Are they related to him?" Chin queried.

"Not to our knowledge."

Mantooth observed the scene unfolding outside safely hidden from behind a window, careful not to give away his position by moving the curtain away. He observed close to a dozen armed officers and marksmen standing at the ready to move into action.

He squinted to focus on a familiar face. He broke into an evil grin as he recognized the leader of the task force that put a wrench in his lucrative business. He grabbed the phone on the table and dialed the number given to reach the mediator.

"Yeah, send in Steve McGarrett unarmed now or I'll waste the hostages," he threatened, leveling his gun at the frightened woman's head. She was curled up on the sofa with her twelve-year-old daughter.

"Steve McGarrett," the negotiator called out. "The man just called. He wants you to go inside or he'll kill the hostages."

Tony held him by the arm and shook his head. "Too risky, Steve."

"Tony, He wants me. I can better negotiate the release of the woman and child unharmed from the inside."

"You sure you want to do this?" the mediator asked. "This man's right," he jutted his head toward Tony. "it might not be the way to go. There's no guarantee that he won't kill you all."

"I won't let that happen." He turned to Duke, Chin and Kono. "Guys, I trust you'll have my back?"

"Try to get him to move in front of the window so I can get a clear shot at him," Kono suggested.

"I'll do my best."

Kono and Chin went to assume their positions while Steve shed his Kevlar vest and handed his weapon over to Duke before proceeding to the entrance.

He knocked on the door and sucked in a deep breath to summon all of his remaining strength to confront the adversary. "It's open, McGarrett!" he heard from inside. He let himself in and closed the door behind him.

"Hands up where I can see them," Mantooth ordered at gunpoint. He gave the SEAL a quick once-over to check for concealed weapon and waved his gun toward the living room, away from the windows. "Come this way."

"I'm unharmed."

"You'd better. What happened to you?" he remarked after taking in Steve's gaunt appearance. "You look like hell," he mocked.

"Okay I'm here," Steve exasperated. "Let the hostages go."

"Not yet. All three of you are my insurance policy."

"We can't get you what you want and you know it."

"I don't care about that now that I have you facing the barrel of my gun." Steve's eyes went to gun that he identified as an AK-47 air rifle. "I want you to pay for flushing my profitable business down the can. I poured in a lot of sweat into building it into the network that it is today, well was, with your intervention."

"Your business?" Steve was astounded.

"Come McGarrett, haven't you figured it out by now?"

"So you're the top man in the organization," Steve inferred.

"Congrats! Once I got out I expected to find my turf intact but my birds fled the coop. And I couldn't reach out to my other band of merry men off the island, which I expect have already gotten word of the top brass moving in on them." Steve's sunken eyes twinkled with satisfaction at the end results of his intervention. "I'm going to wipe that smug off your face, McGarrett," he growled as he leveled his gun at Steve's chest, unaware that he had inadvertently taken a step to stand in clear view of Kono's firing angle.

Kono fired one shot, breaking the window that momentarily distracted the occupants of the house. Screams ranted the air. Before Steve could lunge at the wounded Mantooth, he aimed and fired point blank at his enemy's gut before slumping to the side, dead.

The woman had the presence of mind to grab her frantic daughter in her arms and she dashed out of the house as the cavalry moved in.

"They're dead!" she cried hysterically before she allowed two officers to bring her and her daughter to safety.

Duke, Chin, Kono and three other officers rushed into the house, weapons in hand. They cleared the premises before taking in the grisly sight.

"He's dead," one officer said of Mantooth.

"Steve!" Kono cried out, kneeling down besides her boss bleeding out on the floor.

"I'll get the towels," Chin offered.

"Come on Steve, hang on." The almost serene look on Steve's face put the fear of God into her, not knowing whether he was in agony or just plain numb.

"Steve." Tony gave him a light tap on the cheek to snap him out of his trance. "Don't go there, son. Stay with us now, you hear?" Steve's eyes remained unseen, staring into nothingness.

Seconds later Chin returned with dishtowels. As he applied them onto the bleeding abdomen they heard a sudden cracking sound followed by a body spasm.

"What the hell was that?" Duke exclaimed in shock. He looked down at McGarrett's belly, blood seeping out of tiny holes. "Oh God, he shot him with explosive pellets. Go easy with the towels or you'll risk more damage."

"Where's the ambulance, dammit?" Tony yelled at no one in particular.

"It's on its way."

"He'll bleed to death by the time they get here. I should think you would have anticipated injuries and gotten one on the scene already," Tony scolded as he continued to squeeze Steve's hand to keep him anchored.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Chin, Kono and Tony trotted behind the gurney as the orderlies shouted medical statistics to the attending doctors on their way to the emergency room.

"Chin!" Malia shouted from down the hall. She fell into her husband's arms. "I heard that a Five-0 officer was down and I thought..." she sobbed hysterically as Chin held her.

"It's Steve."

"But didn't you say the governor had put him on temporary leave?"

"It was never really official and you know Steve? Soon as he found out where our guy was, he went long on the ride. Mantooth was holding two hostages at gunpoint and he wanted Steve. Mantooth's dead and Steve took it into the belly. Seems he was shot full of explosive pellets."

"Oh my God, Chin! Those things can implode inside one's body."

"I know. See if you can find out how he's doing."

"Okay." She walked toward the ER and disappeared behind the revolving doors.

"Chin, Kono," Tony said as he reached out to pat their shoulders. "I'll run upstairs to check on Danny. I'll be right back."

Once the cousins acknowledged, Tony took the elevators up to neurology where he made his way to Danny's room. He was puzzled and slightly disturbed to see the nervous parents clinging to each other, obviously waiting for Doctor Karnes to give the latest prognosis of her patient's condition.

"Mister and Mrs. Williams? What's going on?"

"It's Danny. He moved," Danny's mother exulted.

"What?"

"The doctor says it could be an involuntary spasm," the father deadpanned.

"But Bob, you heard him, he moaned. He was trying to say something," she insisted, refusing to allow her husband to dampen her enthusiasm.

Doctor Karnes looped her stethoscope around neck. "There's definitely some brain activity. It's minor but it's there."

"How is this possible when he's brain dead?" Danny's father argued.

"I don't have an explanation right now," the doctor said absentmindedly as she began poking at Danny's fingers with a blunt instrument to test his reflexes. Her eyes widened in surprise when Danny's right hand fingers reacted in response to the stimulus.

"My God! He's actually responding to stimuli." That medical enigma baffled her. Her patient was exhibiting strong neurological signs that he was rising out of his coma. "I want the chief neurologist to see him right away."

Once Doctor Karnes left the room to fetch her colleague, Tony and the parents formed a group hug.

"Steve was right. Danny was in there, somewhere. We just needed to be patient," the woman cried.

"When was it that Danny started showing the signs?" Tony asked curiously.

"I'd say about half an hour ago. Why?"

"I was just wondering if the two are related."

"What are you talking?" the father asked quizzically.

"His partner was shot at just about the same time. He's in the ER right now with multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen."

"Oh my God!" Mrs. Williams cried out with a hand over her mouth. "How is he?"

"We don't know yet. Lieutenant Kelly and Officer Kalakaua are downstairs waiting for news."

"Darling, you go with Mister Archer. I'll stay here until the doctor comes back."

Husband and wife hugged before she followed Tony out of the room and down to emergency to wait with the others for news on Steve's condition.

It wasn't long before Malia was seen pushing her way out of the ER revolving doors. Chin met her halfway and frowned worriedly at her forlorn expression. "Malia, what is it? How's Steve?" he asked with a hard lump in his throat.

They walked the rest of the way to the awaiting group. "It's bad. The scan showed that he was hit by close to a dozen pellets. They counted ten entry holes. They rushed him to surgery hoping they can remove them all. They also fear that the pellets might have contained poison that was released on impact. His blood pressure is extremely low and given his declining health, he might not survive the surgery, but they don't have a choice."

"How long do they expect the surgery to last?" Kono asked.

"It's hard to say but I would make myself comfortable in the waiting room."


	7. Chapter 7

On account of the severe sustained low pressure during surgery, the doctors had to resign closing up the patient before all the pellets were removed. Steve was then taken to ICU in critical condition with round-the-clock care. His low blood pressure and rapid heart rate were of great concern, and the onset of a fever was a sign that infection was setting in despite the broad-spectrum antibiotics administered.

Although the blood work didn't reveal any immediate poisonous substance, Steve's surgeon harbored a fear of lead poisoning resulting from the aluminum and lead-azide pellets still embedded in his abdominal muscles. Three hadn't exploded on contact as others did. Two were lodged inches from vital organs, and removing them without taking extreme precautionary measures could be potentially harmful to both patient and assisting surgeons.

Tony kept a vigil on Steve, while the parents sat with their son, hoping that he would continue to show signs of emerging from his coma.

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

The next morning, Chin and Kono came by to visit with Steve, whose condition remained critical. The doctors feared that his overall self-abuse of his body in the recent weeks resulting in a weight loss and lack of sleep were contributing to his waning condition.

"Hi Tony," Chin greeted as he and Kono approached the bed. "How is he this morning?"

Tony released a sigh fraught with anguish and grief. "The same. The fever hasn't gone up much, which can be considered a good sign in his condition, but his doctor is still cautious though."

"We just came from visiting with Danny," Chin informed as he handed Tony a cup of hot steaming coffee.

"How is the kid? Any improvement?" he asked as he graciously accepted Chin's coffee.

"His eyes are open," Kono said with some optimism.

"You don't say?" Tony beamed.

"However they are unmoving. He's staring out into nothingness. They tried to make him respond to commands, like squeeze a hand or nod." She shook her head dejectedly.

"Give him time. According to the neurologist there is some brainwave activity, which he didn't have a few days ago."

Kono gave a half-hearted smile.

Tony turned to Steve with sorrowful eyes. "Now we just need to keep this stubborn one alive. Once he sees that his partner is recovering he'll shed the guilt and get back in the saddle."

"We all long to see this. What we witnessed of Steve in the last few weeks was pure abuse. He had become a shadow of his former self. He was self-destructing before our eyes and there wasn't anything we could do."

"Those two are truly joined at the hip. They are soul brothers, which is why I believe that Danny miraculously emerging from his coma is somehow linked to Steve's shooting."

"You really believe in that paranormal stuff?" Chin asked a bit ill-at-ease by the possibility of such ethereal bond existing between the two men.

"How else would you explain it? Even Danny's doctor is stumped for a tangible explanation as to how a supposedly brain-dead patient can suddenly switch back to life. Whenever we don't understand something we label it as paranormal. I guess it's okay. Take ancient civilizations for instance. They believed there had to be a deity behind every single phenomenon, like the wind. That's how the Greek God Aeolus came to be."

"I've been doing some research on the subject. Recorded instances of such miracles, as they call it, abound," Kono said. "They defy medical science. Guess we should be grateful that Danny's condition is one of them."

"He still has a long way to go, but by George! so far he's proving all those doctors wrong."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Three days later, while Danny was showing significant improvement and could now breathe on his own, Steve was temporarily taken off the critical list, though he remained in ICU as his condition oscillated from satisfactory one minute to worrisome the next.

Tony observed the doctor intently as he examined Steve. He couldn't help but pick up on the tiny sighs and noticed the deep frown on his brow. "What's the matter, Doctor Hillman?"

"He's not fighting. The bad shape he was in when he was admitted could in part explain his decline, but something else is dragging him down."

"Could it be psychological?" Tony ventured his own theory.

"What are you thinking?" the doctor invited.

"This man has been self-destructing ever since his partner ended up in a coma. He's losing the will to live."

"You could be right. We need to remove to remaining pellets before they implode and do more damage. At the moment his blood lead level is negligible but that could rapidly change given the nature of the shells." He glanced up at the heart monitor to read the body temperature. "His temperature's a bit high so is his white cell blood count. He's fighting the foreign entities in his body. We won't be able to wait indefinitely."

"I have a suggestion," Tony brought forward. "Put him in the same room as his partner."

The doctor pondered for a moment. "Well it can't hurt. All right, I'll make the arrangements."

"Thank you."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

It wasn't long before they wheeled Steve's bed into Danny's room and set it next to his partner's. Once the apparatuses were hooked back up, Tony proceeded to gingerly slant Danny's head to the left, giving him a direct view of his favorite crazy Neanderthal animal.

"Danny, Steve needs you now," he coaxed. "He's in bad shape and you need to make him understand that he cannot give up. Neither can you."

The chief neurologist, Steve's and Danny's doctors, Danny's parents, Kono, Chin, Malia, Rachel, Grace and even Kamekona were present in the room. All anxiously waited with bathed breath for signs that Danny was acknowledging Tony's request. "Come on now, kiddo. You can see him lying there, pathetic. You got to whip him up to shape. He needs you, Danny."

"Come on, Jersey. Do it!" the big man pleaded in a whisper.

"Please Daniel," his mother begged.

"Danno, you can do it," Gracie egged on while holding her dad's hand.

A blink followed by a muffled groan was all that Danny offered, but it was plenty for the aggregate of friends and family to erupt in a silent cheer.

"He squeezed my hand!" little Gracie claimed excitedly. "He moved, mom! Danno moved!" Her euphoria could not be contained and it infected the rest of the audience members.

Doctor Karnes turned to her colleague, bewildered by what she just witnessed. "I honestly don't have a viable medical explanation for this."

"We treat patients and hope for the best outcome, Doctor," the chief neurologist explained. "The rest is up to a higher Power. Detective Williams isn't quite there yet, though. Better not cry victory before he is fully responsive, motor and sensory-wise."

"Yes, Doctor."

The seasoned neurologist smiled, "But he is definitely on a right path."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

It was only forty-eight hours later that Danny began to utter whisperingly the name of his partner, whose condition had worsened in the last few hours. His doctor had no other choice but to send him back to surgery to remove the remaining pellets still embedded in his abdomen.

Danny was vaguely aware of what was happening around him, as they transferred his partner onto a gurney to wheel him out of the room. His parents stayed with him to explain the situation, but all that Danny could do is shed a tear and tug at his mother's hand.

The delicate surgery went on for hours as the pellets were extremely hard to remove. The tiny explosive devices were delicately extracted using cotton-tipped tweezers.

Surgeons and medical staff alike all heaved a sigh of relief, as the last one was pulled out and gingerly placed in a padded container.

"Doctor, blood pressure's dropping," the anesthesiologist informed. A beeping alarm quickly followed his warning.

"Did we miss one?" Doctor Hillman asked his colleagues as he rummaged around in the open incision.

"He's bleeding out," another doctor observed. "Could be that we inadvertently severed an artery?"

Doctor Hillman looked up at the surgical monitor. "No, I know what it is. I can fix it. Clamp!" he held his hand out for the nurse to hand him the instrument. As he succeeded in mending the tear, another alarm blared, shortly followed by a flatline.

"He's in V-fib," the anesthesiologist shouted.

"Charge the paddles to two hundred," Hillman ordered while he started chest compressions.

The nurse handed him the paddles. He rubbed them together and applied them onto the patient's chest. Once the 'clear' was given, he shocked Steve and checked the heart monitor.

"No response."

"Charge to three hundred."

He repeated the shocking four times with different settings, all with identical results. Steve's body arched and fell limply back on the table with his head lolling from side to side.

"You want to call it?" one doctor asked grimly.

"Not yet. Charge to four-fifty." He was not going to lose this patient.

In another part of the hospital, Danny's mother was keeping a vigil on her son when she heard him moan. She stood from her chair and hovered over the bed. "Daniel. It's mom. Open your eyes, sweetheart."

"Steeeeeeve," he drawled in a semi-conscious state. "Donnnnnnnnnnnnn't go."


	8. Chapter 8

_**A huge thank you for your responses to my very first fan fic. I was fun writing it and to avoid losing myself and drag the story on needlessly, I chose to end it here. A reader gave me an idea for another story. I have a beginning and a middle but no end yet. As soon as I can figure it out, I'll start posting the story. **_

It was some hours later when Danny lazily blinked open his eyes to a world of confusion. His brain was still a bit muddled and required time to adjust to the new surroundings. His eyes gleaned over the room before they came to rest on his parents watching television in a corner of the room.

Danny uttered a mumbled 'Steve' to attract their attention.

"Daniel!" He heard his mother rejoiced as she and his dad approached the bed. She clasped his hand and ran her other hand over his forehead and down his cheek. "Daniel, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can."

Both studied intently the hand cradled in hers and cheered when their son responded with a small tug.

"Steeeeeeeve?" Danny droned out with fear in his eyes. "Wheeeere?"

"He's here," she said. "Look to your left." Danny blinked puzzedly as he tried to process her words.

His father then gently tilted his head so that he could see his partner lying in the next bed. "He came out of surgery three hours ago. He's hanging on, son."

"Noooot deaaaaaaaad?"

"No he's not," his mother answered a bit bemused. "Why would you think that?"

"Saaaid goodbyyyyyyye."

She turned to her husband with a quizzical look before asking, "When?"

Before he could answer, sleep claimed him once again.

"Mister and Mrs. Williams, is there something wrong?" Tony asked as he entered the room, looking a bit disturbed to see the parents hovering over their son's bed.

"Daniel woke up briefly asking for Steve. He was afraid he was dead. Said that he told him goodbye."

"Must have been when he crashed on the operating table," Tony surmised.

"Or maybe he just heard us talking about it," her husband argued.

"Did you mention anything about a goodbye?" Both parents glanced at each other then back at Tony. "None of us could have known that." He jutted his head toward Danny. "He did."

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"My husband is an atheist," she finished for him.

"So am I, but I do keep an open mind about things in life that defy any tangible explanation. I'm cautious in my beliefs though, but when I witness an allegedly brain-dead man rising out of a coma with barely any impairment, I have to ask myself."

"So you believe that my Daniel and Steve..."

"I don't believe, I know. I've seen it before. It's creepy and no one really understands how it works, but it does and let's be grateful for it."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Days went by with Danny making remarkable progress with his motor and sensory responses. His memory was partly affected, mostly about the incident that nearly ended his life, but the rest was fairly intact.

When momentarily left alone one late evening, he tried to reach out to his still unconscious partner in the next bed, which proved more taxing on his body than he originally expected. However Danny was determined to get his Neanderthal animal to respond one way or the other.

He garnered all of his strength to raise himself into a sitting position, after which he sluggishly drew the sheet aside and swung his legs on the edge of the bed. He stole a brief moment to breathe away the nausea before crawling over to the wheelchair next to the bed.

"Daniel, what are you doing?!" his mother chided upon entering the room with a lunch bag. She leapt at him before he lost his step and fell to the floor.

"I wanna... wanna to go to Steve," he heaved out.

"You can see him from your bed."

He shook his head. "Not same. He won't listen. Need to be nearer," he said with a pronounced shortness of breath and profuse sweating.

"All right. Stay still. I'll help you to your chair. Breathe deeply," she coached and waited for his breathing to settle before she looped her arm around his waist and assisted him off the bed and into the wheelchair. "Are you okay?" He gave a weak nod.

She wheeled him next to Steve's bed and put on the brakes. "I'll leave you with him for a few minutes. If you need assistance, press the button over there."

"Thanks mom."

She cast one last worried look at her son before leaving the room. Once alone with his partner, Danny reached for Steve's hand and squeezed it lightly. "See? This is what I want you to do. Squeeze my hand. Te...tell me you're in there, you big goof." A smile crept up on his lips as he rejoiced at the fact that he recalled that moniker.

"I got out of my bottomless pit. It's your turn now," he huffed and puffed, feeling a bit queasy with his head pounding. "Come on, Steve. Open your eyes. It's been far too long." Feeling his energy ebbing away and his brain ready to burst, Danny laid his head on the edge of the bed and rested up a bit.

It wasn't long before he felt a tug on his hand. He lazily brought his head up and looked at Steve's hand in his. The fingers were loosely furled around his hand. "Squeeze it again!" Danny egged on, swallowing convulsively at the anticipation building inside.

Again, Steve responded to Danny's command and gave his hand a light squeeze.

"Now, get those eyes open so...so we can have a serious talk you and me." Danny noticed the twitching eyelids and the moving lips, signs that the stubborn SEAL was emerging from the darkness he'd been plunged into for the last few of days.

"Come on!" Danny spurred on. "All this waiting is starting to drain me."

Finally, watery blue eyes opened at a crack and peered through the eyelids. A few blinks later, a confused look settled on Danny.

"Hey there, partner! Long time no see."

"Dannnnnnny?" Steve was confounded by what he was seeing. "You're..."

"I'm real, pal. Feel this?" Danny squeezed Steve's hand.

"Doct...doctor said...no hope."

"Yeah, well, doctors! What do they know, huh?" Danny remarked sarcastically. "I still got a...a few marbles missing, screws loose here and there, and...and some hinges that need oil, but the rest is peachy."

Steve's face began to scrunch up. "Hey, you okay?" Steve gave a weak nod. "You're not...not going to cry, are you? Don't or...or you'll get me started too."

Tears rushed to their eyes as their emotions spilled out. "I thou...thought I'd lo...lossssst you," Steve heaved out in a whisper.

"Same for me, pal," Danny sniffed. "You, yourself, nearly checked out on us."

"Sorry for what happened. My faulllllllt."

"Yeah they told me about your little guilt trip and...and how you've been on a...on a self-destructing path ever since the accident." Danny leaned forward and spoke earnestly, "I know you partner. You always have my six." Steve closed his eyes in remorse. "I may not have any recollection of...of what really happened, but," he frowned as a searing twinge singed his brain, "from what I heard you did everything by the book, save...save maybe for the grenades, which is...typical Neanderthal SEAL craziness."

A timid smile danced on Steve's lips. "I should have waited..."

"Don't. Not now. You get some rest and...and we'll talk about this nonsense later. I'll go back to my bed now bef...before I pass out."

"Okay."

Danny gave one last squeeze on Steve's hand and removed the breaks on his wheelchair before swirling it around. Steve watched his friend as he gruelingly wheeled himself back to his bed and toiled to crawl back under the covers.

"See! Nothing to it," Danny joked breathlessly. He wiggled into a comfortable position before turning to Steve. "Sweet dreams, buddy."

**_h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50h50_**

Weeks later, the two friends were lounging around on beach chairs in Steve's backyard, watching Grace trying her hand at surfing in the soft waves.

"Careful Monkey!" Danny warned. "Don't go too far into the water."

"Want another beer?" Steve offered.

"Yep. Thanks."

Steve took a long swig off his bottle and sighed contentedly. "Oh yeah, I prefer that taste way better."

"Yeah they told me you switched brand there for awhile."

"I needed me some mind-numbing potion."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, but it came with a side of hangovers."

"I just bet it did." Danny sniggered before turning his attention back to Grace in the ocean. "Gracie, baby, don't get up. Both hands on the board. Start sitting down."

While Danny kept his sight trained on his daughter, Steve gazed at him mournfully.

Feeling his partner's eyes on him, Danny turned to him with a puzzled look. "What's the matter?"

"I was just thinking about what your doctor said."

"About the brain-dead thing?"

"Yeah. I have half of mind to sue her for malpractice," Steve said as he took a swig off his beer.

"Don't be too hard on her, she didn't know. That is one of the baffling mysteries of life. Why is it that one ends up in a coma and wakes up with a disability, when the other doesn't or that some never wake up at all."

"She tried to convince your parents that there was no hope."

"Yeah and mom told me that you insisted that they wait awhile before making a hasty decision."

"Don't get me wrong, the last thing I wanted was for you to live your life as a vegetable, but somehow I knew you were still in there, somewhere."

"I was." Steve turned to him with a bemused look. "Can't explain it though, it's like I was in limbo. I couldn't move but I could hear almost everything that was going on around me. I was like floating disembodied, travelling boundless without the confines of my body. Got to tell you I wanted to stay there. It was alluring. Then I saw you getting shot."

"You actually saw that?"

"I rather felt it. I also sensed that you were giving up. You did say goodbye. So I guess that's what decided me to come back and knock some sense into you."

"So, that wasn't a dream."

"Eerie, isn't it?" Steve nodded. "You know I'm an atheist but this experience," he paused, "man, it shook my beliefs to the core and left me wondering."

"I know what you mean."

"Oh and while I was out floating around, my parents decided to adopt you."

"Did they?" Steve laughed.

"Yeah. Next time I go to New Jersey, they want me to bring you along. Guess they need you to sign some papers to make it legal."

"I wouldn't mind, really," Steve said wistfully.

"I wouldn't either. It's settled then. I'll tell mom and dad to get the papers ready."

"Hey, what's this about adoption? I thought I had first dibs on you two?" Tony ribbed as he put the medium-sized pizza on the table between the two men.

"No, you're our marriage counselor, remember?" Danny razzed back. "Ahhhh! That's what I've been waiting for. Tony Archer's famous Brooklyn pizza with NO pineapples on top."

"Pineapples? You don't ruin a pepperoni masterpiece with fruits."

"I love this man!" Danny turned to the beach and saw Grace put her surfboard down and walking toward them. "Dinner is ready, Monkey."

"Now eat hearty, gentlemen. There's plenty for everyone. And remember Steve, you fold it and slide it in." Tony picked up a slice and held it up. "To your health, boys!"

**The End**


End file.
